Green Park Brass fin.qxp_Layout 1 21/07/2021 09:41 Page 2
RESTAURANT | REVIEW
up the road with their herd of North Devon Reds; the fillet cut is incredibly tender and flavoursome, and our head chef Steve Derry produces a world-class peppercorn sauce that’s very popular and goes with it incredibly well!”) and Bath Pizza Co head chef Jonah Pole’s goat’s cheese, mushroom and truffle oil pizza as his personal current fave raves. Alex’s tried-and-trusted recommendations will have to wait until our next visit to be sampled though, because on this occasion there was the irresistible offer of skate wing on the specials board (huge, creamy, delicate but not fragile, and sweetly meaty) and a tantalising dish of chargrilled, lemon and herb-marinated Castlemead Farm chicken breast served with chilli-roasted cauliflower and cumin and turmeric crème fraîche on the à la carte, which turned out to be even more fascinatingly foodie-complex than the description suggested.
❝ We dived into starters of exceedingly
moreish crispy/creamy smoked west country pancetta and leek croquettes
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But if those dishes tempt you into playing copycat, move fast and be warned: GPB menus are strictly seasonal and always wrought from locally sourced ingredients, including as much produce from the thriving Green Park Station Farmers’ Market as possible. As a result, a dish that’s trending today might well be consigned to the files marked ‘last season’ by the time you read these words. When it comes to puddings, however, GPB’s legendarily good signature dessert crème brûlée is always in vogue, so make like us and try one; I guarantee it’s the best crème brûlée you’ve ever tasted. Even before the enormous challenges and devastating restrictions that the pandemic era threw at the hospitality domain, questions around how restaurants survive in such a competitive market subject to the whims and vagaries of fashionability, fads and an insecure financial climate have always loomed large over the most successful business plans. But for over almost three decades now, GPB has
Dishes with duck and hake
skilfully moved with the times while still retaining all the original charms that made it so popular from the get-go; in so many wonderful ways, Bath’s beloved brasserie is still very young for its age. Is this youthful outlook the secret of its success... or are dedication, adaptation and diversification the key factors in play here? As in all the best recipes, it’s clear that all these ingredients go into the pot. “Aside from the pandemic, we’ve been able to grow the business over the years while building on the strong foundations that my dad Andrew laid in 1992 – and I’m really, really proud of that,” says Alex, who stepped into his directorship role in 2018. “I feel a strong responsibility to Bath to ensure that this magnificent building is a place that people can love coming back to time and time again. I want our future to hold and offer yet more of the best things in life: great food and drink in a wonderful setting to enjoy with the people you care about. We’re committed to doing what we do; next year, we’ll have been doing it for 30 years... and we’re hoping we have at least another 30 to look forward to!” If you too fancy accentuating the positive, the good times at the glorious Green Park Brasserie offer multiple reasons to be cheerful. n The Green Park Brasserie menu offers starters from £7.50, mains from £14.95, steak from £19.95, desserts from £6.50
THEBATHMAG.CO.UK
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AUGUST 2021
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TheBATHMAGAzine 47
